Northridge Earthquake, CA, January 17, 1994 -- Many roads, including bridges and elevated highways were damaged by the 6.7 magnitude earthquake. Approximately 114,000 residential and commercial structures were damaged and 72 deaths were attributed to the earthquake. Damage costs were estimated at $25 billion.

Credit: FEMA News Photo

Credit:
R. Kachadoorian, U.S. Geological Survey

On November 15th, the National Science Foundation hosted the grand opening of the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES).

The grand opening included live, remote demonstrations from four of the network's research sites, including a test that inflicted the forces of historic earthquakes upon a 70-foot-tall wind turbine.

Following remarks from NSF Deputy Director Joseph Bordogna and Assistant Director for Engineering John Brighton, the demonstrations were presented by the president of NEES Consortium, Inc., Ian Buckle.

Following question and answers via telecom with all 15 sites, guests were invited to attend a reception featuring a live, scaled-size demonstration of one of the NEES tools.